Florida Gators Name Four Captains For Week One Bout with Utah

Exactly one year ago, Napier emphasized the importance of a full-year sample size before players voted on set-in-stone captains for the 2023 year.

"We wait until the season's over and then we let the players vote and really observe the entire body of work," he said on Aug. 31, 2022. "I think the season is where leadership emerges. ... And I think we'll let the players vote on the full body of work at the end of the year."

Now, leaders have emerged after being provided the season of evaluation pertaining to captains. The Gators have seemingly arrived at the quartet of representatives before year two.

Johnson and Pearsall are expected to serve in feature roles on the Gators' new-look offense during the 2023 campaign. Johnson will re-assume ball-carrying duties next to Trevor Etienne with the expectation to replicate the rushing success from a season ago. Meanwhile, Pearsall is positioned to be Florida's top pass-catching weapon for the second straight year.

Both pieces are crucial to the offensive success UF can realize during the campaign.

Defensively, Umanmielen and Marshall will anchor a defensive hoping to witness a drastic resurgence in year one under Austin Armstrong's guidance. They've each first-round draft pick projections this offseason, with Marshall landing in the bottom half of the first more consistently.

Umanmielen's placement in the draft is contingent on his production from Florida's JACK spot.

The defense will lean on aggressive tendencies under Armstrong, utilizing a heavy dose of press man coverage while banking on creating pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Marshall and Umanmielen are the pillars of that approach.

Florida will kick off against Utah at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT on Thursday.

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